Ermengard of Narbonne and the world of the Troubadours, 2001, 520 p., 9 cartes, ill. -

Before France became France its territories included Occitania, the present-day province of Languedoc. The city of Narbonne was a center of Occitanian commerce and culture during the 11th and 12th centuries. For most of the second half of the 12th century, the area was ruled by a remarquable woman, Ermengard. The author gives a biography on 2 levels, of an extraordinary warrior woman and of unique, vulnerable, dommed society. Ermengard was born into a world of politics, but from the Mediterranean to the North Sea her name echoed in songs that threated the art of love.